Planning and Researching Your Holiday on Madeira

Madeira is an island of contrasts. Let's divide the island into directional chunks? North, South, East and West. In broad brush-stroke description you have, in the North rugged, mountainous, very rural scenery. It is less populous than the south coast but now has good road systems, allowing touring in your rented car (easy to book online with major international companies). The colours are predominantly the green of the beautiful forested mountains, the black of the basalt columns and the clear turquoise blue waters of the Atlantic with crashing waves of white. If you like the idea of this colour combo go and visit Porto Moniz in Spring to watch the high seas from a friendly café? Or, swim the natural rock pools. You are more likely to experience rain in the north during the winter months than elsewhere on the island but that is why the BioSphere at Arco Sao Jorge is a World Heritage Site, so green and clean; giving you a sense of well-being just breathing the air.

There are less hotels in the north than in the south, where of course the capital city, Funchal sits at the foot of a range of majestic mountains. In Funchal you will find a range of activities and touring opportunities. Because it has a higher density of tourists you will find excursions on offer for less cost than elsewhere on the island. Taxis are there in high volume and quite inexpensive, but like other capital cities you need to negotiate and compare one drivers quote to another! There is a wide choice of hotel accommodation, easy access to the sea from concrete sunbathing decks and soon there is going to be a beach; this is being formed from the new development on the seafront, opposite the Cruise Liner Terminal. Funchal is a lively city offering a glimpse of local culture by way of the market selling predominantly flowers, fruit and fish - displayed in a quite unique way - stacked high in large colourful arrays you will find every and any fruit, many grown right here in Madeira in the sub tropical warm air on terraces that look impossible to reach let alone to cultivate.

The East of the island is dry and looks very different from everywhere else. There are spiky Agaves growing wild alongside the Madeiran Dragon Trees. The Sao Laurenco peninsular "drips" off the end of the island finishing in a small full-stop. The walk from the car park along the accessible paths, leading to the end of the island offers amazing views of both the north and south vistas. Machico is always worth a visit and is the largest town in the East. There is a yellow sand beach, cafes galore and has the loveliest fort to visit to survey the seas as the port authorities did 500 years ago!

All along the south coast there are villages offering village squares, access to walks, shops and café culture, from Santa Cruz to Ponta da Pargo there will be somewhere that you fall in love with. There is a range of activities on offer from deep-sea diving to paragliding (for the very brave of course!).

I haven't mentioned the central area of the island - that too is amazing! Deep rift valleys bubbling up new clouds, tall mountains worn into strange and wonderful shapes, viewing platforms and interesting villages: As an example there is Nun's Valley where the religious community fled from the pillaging pirates who invaded and once ruled in Funchal... Clearly pirates were not up to hill walking! But you don't have to walk it; now there are regular buses, tourist buses and taxis to take you there to breath the mountain air, perhaps to have lunch at the hotel at Eirra do Serrado (great fish!) and look at the glorious views from their panoramic window in the main restaurant.

And on to my favourite; the West! Green and luxuriant in vegetation, mountains and beaches, restaurants and cafes, sugar production museums, rural life museums, walking and paragliding, whale-watching and just sitting and looking! The coastline is dramatic with the second highest sea cliff in the world at Cabot Girao. If that isn't enough to take you breath away there is a glass platform to stand on to look at all below!

There is so much to see and do you will quickly realise that one trip to the island is not enough. Come again and perhaps stay in a contrasting location to the first trip?

In the West there are mostly small hotels and self-catering accommodation. There is however a large hotel on Calheta Beach and in 2015 the big new Spa hotel will be opening very near the Calheta beaches. Quinta hotels are available here, or you might describe them as Country House Hotels. There is a style for everyone.

These are my recommendations:

If you want noise, hustle, bustle, nightclubs and flashy entertainment, multi-story designer shopping? Don't come to Madeira. BUT if you like the drama nature has on offer, can appreciate the simple life and want to actually meet local, Madeiran people - COME! If you like the challenge of driving up mountains, through tunnels and into scenery you have only previously seen in urassic Park? COME. You will get a great welcome whichever direction you take when you land at our airport, just to the East of Funchal.

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